Honey Bear Counted Cross-Stitch

I love to cross-stitch.  I remember learning how to do some really basic ones when I was in elementary school and then tackling some bigger counted cross-stitch projects in middle school.  When my boys were born I made a little sampler for each of them but this was the largest project I had ever made.

I originally bought the kit at JoAnn's however after searching online so I could give you the link I learned that it is a discontinued kit. I saw a few on E-bay, and you can find it at:

Cross-Stitch World
Sunset Dimensions: Honey Bear by Doug Knutson
Counted Cross Stitch
14x9"
Kit No. 13696 / UPC: 088677136921

It is a large piece (14x9") and took me about 2 years to complete.  I would work on it, put it away then bring it out and work on it some more.  It was a great project to do watching TV at night or during playgroup when my kids were little.  I love hand stitching because it's very relaxing to me and you can still carry on conversation while you work.  I completed it when we lived in Arizona and it has moved with us and hangs in it's own special little corner in our home.

I love making projects like this because you can see all your hard work.  Normally a night watching TV is gone, wasted. But when you work on a project at the same time, at least you have something beautiful to show for it!

Every time I walk past it I remember how long it took me to complete, it seems like such a long time for one picture.  But I did it, I finished.  One stitch at a time.  Almost like a metaphor to life.  When you are working on a project or muddling through a hard part of life, you have to untie knots, separate strings, unpick where you miscounted, and do sections all over again. With practice it gets easier but inevitably another mistake will happen. Looking up from the bottom all you see is a tangled mess of colorful strings. Some brown and black along with all the other colors of the rainbow.  Over time a picture starts to take shape.  Little by little everything comes together and you can see what it was supposed to be all along.

Image Credit: http://melonheadsldsillustrating.blogspot.com/2011/05/quotes-and-wordies.html